May 31, 2017 | (50) Comments

You have often heard me say that Texas Children’s charge is to provide “the right care, in the right place at the right time.” For the past two decades, that has been the driver behind our strategic growth beyond the Texas Medical Center and into the communities where our patients and their families live.

Making sure they have access to exceptional health care close to home is why we have hospitals in Katy and The Woodlands and nearly 80 Texas Children’s primary care and urgent care practices, specialty care centers, maternal-fetal medicine clinics and other health care locations throughout Greater Houston. And that is why we are bringing Texas Children’s to Austin, Texas.

Today, we are announcing our plans to expand our pediatric and OB/GYN services into Austin, beginning with the opening of a welcome center, followed quickly thereafter with a pediatric urgent care clinic by spring 2018. This will mark the first Texas Children’s location in the Austin area, and starting with a welcome center will allow us to learn more about the area and share our story and plans for growth with the Austin community. We will open three additional pediatric urgent care clinics, 18 primary care pediatric practices, three pediatric specialty care locations and two maternal-fetal medicine practices across the city over the next five years.

As some of you may know, Austin is the 11th largest city in the U.S. and is also the fastest-growing city in America, with a pediatric population of more than 480,000. In short, Austin’s growth is outpacing its pediatric and women’s health care infrastructure. We already take care of many children and women from the Austin and Central Texas area. Providing primary and secondary care there will simply create an opportunity for us to do an even better job of that, so Austin families can have the care they need close to home … just like our families in Greater Houston. Our presence in Austin will also facilitate referrals to Texas Children’s Hospital for high acuity patients in need of comprehensive tertiary care and procedures available only at hospitals with our depth and breadth of specialized services.

Executive Vice President Michelle Riley-Brown is leading the charge on our robust outpatient strategy in Austin. Her leadership and experience ensures that our strategy is well researched, thoughtful and cost effective. Taking our outpatient services to Austin means we will not have to build new facilities, and employing a five-year strategy requires minimal financial investment. We want to collaborate with the established pediatric and OB/GYN providers in the region to help support the growing Austin community.

Also, Texas Children’s Pediatrics will build on its 20-plus years of experience working with community pediatricians and will partner with existing pediatric primary care practices in the region. I’m confident in the proven leadership of Texas Children’s Pediatrics and Urgent Care President Kay Tittle and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stanley Spinner to guide our assertive, incremental approach. As we expand the services offered, we will continue to evaluate and monitor the needs of Austin families, and those of others around the state, to tailor our offerings to best meet those needs.

Texas Children’s entry in the Austin community is a natural extension of our mission to expand care and access to more families in Texas. And this is precisely what providing the right care, in the right place at the right time actually looks like. It’s not a clever phrase or a lofty aspiration – it’s Texas Children’s commitment to serving our patients, wherever they are. And we’re backing up that commitment with a sound strategy and an investment in the Austin community. In Texas, that’s called walking the walk, and we’re excited that our path is Austin-bound.

October 31, 2016 | (19) Comments

In a story on Connect last week, you read about one of our precious patients – 3-year-old Christopher – and his mom Jessica Coker. Jessica shared how shortly after giving birth to Christopher she learned he had very complex medical needs and would require a level of care and health care management that, just days before, she could not even fathom. But like most parents, she received the devastating news as a charge to immediately learn all she could to be her child’s most diligent and resourceful health care advocate.

I think about families like the Cokers all the time. These families and their children remind us why we are here,star-kids-2 and they drive the work we do at Texas Children’s. They are why I am so very excited about today – today is the debut of STAR Kids, a new Texas Medicaid managed care program that will provide benefits to more than 180,000 children and young adults who have special health care needs.

Texas Children’s Health Plan is one of three managed care organizations offering the STAR Kids plan in Harris, Jefferson and Northeast service areas. But make no mistake – this is a system-wide interest for Texas Children’s. We expect to enroll thousands of new children in the Health Plan. Many of these children are already receiving some level of care at Texas Children’s, and many more will be new to our system. We have a responsibility to ensure exceptional, seamlessly coordinated health care across our system for all of these children.

Many of the children in STAR Kids will be cared for by a host of specialists. Christopher, for example, sees about 24 specialists within and outside of the Texas Children’s system. Christopher’s well-being and that of thousands of children relies squarely on the support they have in navigating the health care system. These children need primary care, outpatient subspecialty services, diagnostic services and therapies, and we have an incomparable and vast network of care. But the best care in the world will not benefit them if they do not have access to it when they need it. Our involvement in STAR Kids is an opportunity for us to stand in the gap for these children, and our new Complex Care Clinic is one way we are doing that. Our care coordinators – registered nurses and certified social workers – provide individual treatment plans to make sure these children have preventive care and routine well visits, urgent visits and follow-up care.

And while our primary driver is ensuring the right care for the children in the program, understand that we also have a huge financial stake in the success of STAR Kids. Efficiently and proactively managing care for these children – and all of our patients, for that matter – means we not only provide the right care, but we respond to their needs in the right place and at the right time. Getting families connected to appropriate resources, providing planned, well-coordinated care, and having robust home based services will help their children avoid unnecessary emergency room visits and unplanned hospital stays.

As a result, they stay healthier, and they enjoy a better quality of life. That is why we are here at Texas Children’s, and that is success for everyone – our patient families and for us. Our mission is to care for these children. Our charge is to do it well.

Learn more about STAR Kids and Texas Children’s involvement.

March 2, 2016 | (3) Comments

You know, I firmly believe we all should be guided by a core system of beliefs as leaders. There are literally hundreds of appropriate leadership definitions and approaches, and while there is no perfect or universally accepted way to lead, if you aspire to lead effectively, you must have that core system of beliefs.

For me, that system of beliefs and proven strategies is my 10 Maxims of Leadership. These leadership philosophies guide my path, my thoughts, decisions and actions – at home and at work. And ultimately, it’s my core system of leadership values that drive meaningful, effective outcomes and successful results.

TEX_2K16-0091_PVK_1531 Mark Wallace and Texans Coach Bill O'BrienBecause I’ve invested so much time personally growing and refining myself as a leader, I have a deep appreciation for others on that same journey. So it was such a pleasure recently to have Houston Texans Coach Bill O’Brien stop by Directors Forum to speak to our leaders about his distinguished career in professional football and the leadership skills he’s honed to get where he is today.

Video: Coach Bill O’Brien’s presentation to Directors Forum

*Please note this video is only available for internal viewing on Connect.

Coach O’Brien shared six attributes of leadership he has developed over the years based on his unique experiences in football. These attributes comprise his core system of beliefs and have proven effective throughout his career. I’d like to share them with you.

Communication. When it comes to delivering important news, do it in person, not via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or any other type of social media. There are a lot of things that can be communicated that way, but when it comes to substance or making critical decisions, it should be done face to face.

People skills. Get to know the people you work with. Sometimes it’s a challenge to get to know everyone, but at least attempt to. It shows you care and will inspire employees to be the best they can be.

Character. When you have character and you have people of character working with you, in a critical situation, they’ll do the right thing.

Competence. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Know what you want to accomplish, and give people something that makes them better.

A good heart. Share a little bit about yourself with those you work with. It shows compassion and that there are more important things than just work.

Courage. Be decisive, understand what’s in front of you, and know what you believe in. Then have the courage to stand up for it, and inspire others to do so as well.

What I like most about the list of attributes Coach O’Brien shared is that they can be applied by anyone in any position at any organization. They are simple yet powerful tools people can use to cultivate strong relationships, which are paramount at amazing organizations like Texas Children’s and the Houston Texans.

Hearing Coach O’Brien’s leadership philosophy makes me even prouder that we’re partners. We are both fortunate to lead teams of incredible people, and I know together, our teams will do some great things in the years to come.

 

January 26, 2016 | (7) Comments

I love that we at Texas Children’s are not afraid to speak up when change needs to happen. Many of you email me your ideas about how we can improve patient care, operate more efficiently and ensure our patients and their families have the best possible experience while they are here.

I received one such email from Becky White, one of our phenomenal nurses in the NICU. She wrote me in response to one of my blog posts, “In their shoes.” The post was about customer service and what all of us can do every day to ensure patients and their families have an exceptional experience at Texas Children’s each time they walk through our doors. Becky shared her experiences with me as a parent of a Texas Children’s patient and as a NICU nurse.

I was incredibly touched by her email and, subsequently, invited her to my office to hear more about her story, her perceptions and her ideas on how we can make Texas Children’s even better from both a quality of care and quality of service perspective. Becky and her nursing manager, Rebecca Schiff, a mother of twins who had spent some time in our NICU, both had me sitting on the edge of my seat, eager to hear more about their personal and professional experiences and their insights.

Before leaving my office, Becky told me how surprised she was that I took the time to respond to her email. She didn’t think CEOs did that sort of thing, but as you all know, I try to respond to every email I receive. And when Becky asked to shadow me for one day so she could see firsthand what our administrative leadership team does behind the scenes, I graciously accepted and invited her to attend a day of leadership forum meetings.

Surrounded by leaders from different areas of the organization – like Marketing/PR, Human Resources, Finance, Governance, and Quality and Patient Safety – Becky was thoroughly impressed by how hard everyone works, the meticulous collaboration and communication involved and the diverse skill sets our leaders bring to the table to help each of us advance our mission. She said she realized how much our leadership team is working on behalf of our frontline staff to meet their needs so they can fulfill the health care needs of our patients. Essentially, Becky got a glimpse of Texas Children’s that our nurses and many of our frontline staff don’t normally see.

Click here to read Becky’s blog post on Voice of Nursing about her experience.

A month or so later, I had the opportunity to experience Becky’s world in the NICU. Despite the sound of sporadic, beeping alarms, the NICU environment was quiet and serene, almost like a chapel at times. As I walked through the unit, one thing captured my attention: no matter where I turned, our nurses were working seamlessly as a team, making certain our tiniest, most fragile patients were taken care of. Everyone was respectful of his or her colleagues, and everyone was very sensitive to the families’ needs.

During my visit, I met with our NICU leadership team, and I appreciated their openness and candor as they shared their areas of concern and the collaborative improvements they’ve made to significantly reduce our CLABSI rates in the NICU, among other things. Seeing how hard they work and how they’re giving everything they’ve got to care for these sick babies and their families was inspiring.

There was a wonderful mutual respect and appreciation between Becky and me. She looked at the administrative side of things, and she said “Wow. Everybody is giving it their best to make Texas Children’s an exceptional place for patients and their families to receive the best quality of care and service.” Then I immersed myself in her world, and I felt that same appreciation and admiration.

My experience with Becky was just another reminder that, whether we work at the bedside or behind the scenes, everyone matters, and everyone’s perspective has value. Everyone’s work is essential at Texas Children’s, and when we all share the same intense passion for the mission, we drive it forward.